Controlling External Images with MCP
Connect External Images to Codex or Claude Code and you can ask it to audit how your catalogue is imaged, sample-check supplier URLs, and adjust image behaviour using evidence from the site.
Requires External Images 3.43 or newer and WordPress 6.9 or newer.
Connect once for all Super Speedy plugins
MCP setup is shared across the Super Speedy range. You do not need a separate bridge for External Images.
- Install any Super Speedy plugin, open Super Speedy, and enter your licence.
- Open Super Speedy > MCP setup.
- Generate the connection commands and copy the command for Codex or Claude Code.
- Paste it into your terminal, then restart the AI assistant.
The generated command uses a revocable WordPress Application Password. One connection exposes the documented tools from every active Super Speedy plugin.
Ask for a catalogue image audit before asking for a setting change. This separates missing mappings from dead supplier URLs and avoids treating two different faults as one.
Useful requests
- "Audit product images and tell me how many are external, attached or missing."
- "Check a sample of our supplier image URLs and group failures by host."
- "Why are some products still showing placeholders?"
- "Show me the effect and risk before enabling image proxying."
What the assistant should do
The assistant should read image statistics and configuration first. If remote availability is relevant, it can run a bounded sample check and report the HTTP result by host. It should then explain whether the problem is mapping, missing data, or a remote server failure before proposing a configuration change.
After a write, it should read the settings again and, where useful, repeat a small verification sample. A sample check is evidence, not a guarantee that every external URL works.
MCP abilities
| Ability | Purpose |
|---|---|
get-config | Read supported settings, current values, defaults and confirmation status. |
image-stats | Count products with mapped external images, raw supplier URLs, attached thumbnails or no image, and list external hosts. |
verify-images | Run bounded HEAD checks against a small sample of stored external image URLs. |
update-config | Update recognised settings using the plugin’s normal validation. |
These abilities use the external-images namespace and are discovered through the shared connection.
Safety
The abilities require ei_manage_images, granted to administrators automatically. Settings with material disk or performance consequences require explicit confirmation: proxying all images, importing all Datafeedr images, per-product size checks and import-time attachment mapping. Remote verification is deliberately bounded because every checked URL creates a real external request.
When MCP does not cover the task
Use browser control when the assistant needs to judge crops, aspect ratios, lazy-loading behaviour or a visual layout. Restricted SSH can help inspect web-server errors or storage consumption. Neither is required for the normal statistics, verification and settings workflow.
Troubleshooting the connection
- If the tools are absent, activate or update External Images and restart the AI assistant.
- If command generation is unavailable, check HTTPS and WordPress Application Password support.
- If remote checks fail, ask for results grouped by host before changing plugin settings; the supplier may be blocking HEAD requests or your server IP.
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